Indian soldiers at the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir | image credit: PTI
New Delhi: Indian Army spokesman Col. Rajesh Kalia said in a statement that an internal inquiry concluded that its staff abused AFSPA powers in an anti-militancy operation in Shopian district in July.
On August 18, the military claimed that soldiers killed "three terrorists" in Amshipora village of the southern Shopian district.
Familes of the youth told the press that the army had killed them in a staged gunfight claiming they were militants.
Muhammad Yusuf, father of Abrar Ahmad, one of the slain youth in the encounter, had told media that his son and his two cousins had left home on July 16 for work in Shopian.
The families of the youth had filed a missing complaint with the police after they did not return home.
The bereaved families identified the men from photos of those killed in the operation, which were circulated on social media.
Rajesh Kalia said that DNA tests of the victims were pending and the police were investigating if they were involved in militancy.
The army statement also said that the competent disciplinary authority has directed to initiate disciplinary proceedings under the Army Act against those found prima-facie answerable.